Help! Anyone with experience with locking stifles in youngsters?

[GAEventer]

We have a yearling colt that got a locked stifle last week. Per our vet’s recommendation we tried backing him up to unlock it, but that didn’t work. After several hours it unlocked on it’s own. We had him x-rayed, no OCD, but his growth plate was a bit inflamed. We started him on 10 days of antibiotics to help with the inflammation and have kept him turned out so he’d be moving around.

He did it again this morning. He unlocked it on his own again after a few hours. It’s distressing because we can’t do anything to help him, and he can’t pick his hind leg up enough to step on the bottom of his foot so he ends up ‘walking’ on his pastern/fetlock.

Our vet said that this is a mechanical failure and that there isn’t any procedure that can fix it.

Does anyone have any experience with this? Will he outgrow it? It sounds like a bleak outcome if there isn’t anything we can do for him, I can only imagine what would happen if he was bigger or weighed more.

Thank you for any input or recommendations.

[JB]

I’m curious why abx instead of, say, bute, for the inflammation? What are the vet’s thoughts?

Is the colt stalled? If so, keep him out.

It’s not uncommon for growing youngsters to go through growth phases that cause this - butt high, which straightens the stifle.

One of the biomechanical aspects to this is a tight tensor facia muscle, which is basically right there at the flank. So, something you can try next time this happens is to start massaging that - lightly at first, then really get in there as much as he’ll allow.

I don’t know what your vet means exactly by “mechanical failure”, but what’s going on is the patellar ligament is getting hooked over the patellar hook - the exact same mechanism that allows them to lock the leg and sleep standing up - but it’s not unhooking when the horse wants to move. Causes are tight muscles there, including quadriceps, or a ligament that’s too short. In these butt-high growth spurts, that effectively “shortens” the ligament a bit, and combined with the straightened stifle joint, it just asks for UFP.

Yes, most horses outgrow this. It’s REALLY important in the mean time to keep them out of a stall. If there’s an option between a flatter pasture and hillier one, go for the hillier one, as the increased exercise will help strengthen the muscles responsible for getting the ligament off the bone.

Your vet is wrong on the bleakness of this. There has always been a surgical remedy for this if, by the time you get an adult horse whose work is not helping (enough), something more permanent needs to be done. The old remedy was to just cut the ligament. Unfortunately that often results in arthritis around the stifle as the horse ages - you’ve just created an instability.

The newer surgery though involves a few slices along the lines of the ligament to effectively lengthen it. This only works if the ligament is too short/tight.

But unless it’s REALLY serious in a young horse, you still don’t do that because as I said, almost all the time they grow out of this.

Is he in good weight? SOMEtimes this can be helped by adding more fat to the horse, but that’s really only if they are underweight to begin with.

[Kyzteke]

A friend of mine recently went through a similar experience w/a 3 yr old she had started u/s. Filly had these issues and actually FELL DOWN w/her once!! Vet did the exam and came up with the same dx & prognosis as your vet…should grow o/o it.

Well, at the same time (can’t recall all the details) she was checking her UL dressage horse’s selenium levels…they were WAY low. So she checked the filly’s level as well and it was very low.

Started both on a Se+ supplement and within a week or so the problem resolved and has not returned.

Might be worth investigating…it’s a simple enough blood draw. More & more studies are showing that horses need more selenium than was previously thought, HOWEVER – be aware too much selenium can be toxic, so be sure and do the blood draw first.

[beau159]

@GAEventer;8063830

Our vet said that this is a mechanical failure and that there isn’t any procedure that can fix it.

Because of this single statement, I’d be finding a new vet.

There are plenty of ways to treat it, as JB pointed out.

[Kerole]

Yep been through this exact thing with a yearling warmblood colt. He was pretty bum high. His stifle would lock a few times a day and ‘unlock’ after he took couple of staggering 3-legged steps. Really disturbing to watch. Vet mentioned surgery but said he would almost certainly grow out of it, just keep him moving not standing around, strengthen his hindquarters.

So I threw him out into a hilly paddock with several natural obstacles such as a massive drain, trees, small lake etc. He got to use his body more and strengthen up. The problem went away completely over the winter months. No changes to the stifle joint, no lasting damage. He was sold as a late 2yo with clean rads.

I have also had some dealings with stifle lock in an older riding horse. She was a scrawny 6yo TB mare. It only occurred when she was standing either in the field or when tied up. It did not unlock nearly as easily as my colt. The vet showed me a maneuver that worked well for this mare. Grab the leg in both hands and take it straight back (don’t pull it outward), lifting the hock behind the horse. With a quick and strong motion, lift (jerk?) the limb up and out directly behind the horse. It always unlocked the limb. It took some strength to do and looked a little brutal but the mare showed no sign of discomfort or concern. I would have to do this once or twice a week when the mare was in work.

[stoicfish]

We started him on 10 days of antibiotics to help with the inflammation and have kept him turned out so he’d be moving around.

I don’t understand this either. That will not help with inflammation unless there is an infection. Unless the vet was thinking it would help like contracted tendons?
Bute is hard on the stomach so don’t forget to get something for the stomach at the same time. Or natural anti-inflammatory’s work well for longer terms, like Turmeric.

[khall]

Yes I have with young WB filly, best thing is to leave out 24/7. Strengthening the hindquarters is the way to help them. Ground poles, rein back, hills long straight lines up gentle slope.

Mine did fine as long as I left her out all the time.

[Blume_Farm]

I too had a colt that had Upward Fixation of the Patella (UFP). He did grow out of it but not until 5-6 years old as it would come and go between 1-5/6 years old depending on his growth phase. Sold as a three year old with still mild UFP, clean rads and marked on pre purchase. However, the vet doing the pre purchase, as well as my vet (both boarded equine surgeons) were not concerned as most grow out of it fully and if not there are many procedures that can be done to help it. It is a mechanical issue where the leg may be too straight and/or patella ligament too long so it “fixes/ catches”. Usually as they level out in growth and gain fitness it goes away. Hill work, and I mean real hill work, is most beneficial. If that does not resolve it you can have the patella ligament “blistered”. They make small lacerations in the patellar ligament with either a blade or 18g needle and infuse a counter irritant to make the patellar ligament more firm and shorter (as opposed to what a previous poster above said…it is not to make the ligament longer, but rather tighter and shorter). This can be done with sedation and standing. I have had it done twice on my mare that injured her patella ligament in a lunging accident, effectively resulting in a stretched patella ligament and UFP. She is really only bad during winter months when out of fitness. It does sometimes manifest itself when doing lateral work, but if I ride very correctly and we are relaxed all is good.

I also have a friend that has a horse with UFP. He sometimes locks so bad he can’t back up or even pick up a rear leg for the farrier until it “pops” from the locked position. It too goes away when he is in good fitness. Amazingly it never bothers him under saddle, ever, and he is showing 3rd, schooling 4th/ PSG level work at 10 years old. He consistently scores mid 60s-low 70s so doesn’t hold him back and he will certainly make it to GP.

This is by no means a doom and gloom issues. Can be freaky looking and scary even for the horse. Do not keep him stalled, if you have hills turn him out on them and maybe even pony him on hilly trails if you are comfortable doing that.

[dr_j]

He will be fine… lots of good advice here but in essence almost all horses as they develop their rear end, it won’t be an issue.

Used to see a lot in STBs and gaited horses.

[GAEventer]

Thank you all for the input. I was able to speak with my regular vet yesterday (the one that saw my colt for the emergency call is a partner in the practice), and he said much of what you all have mentioned above. He said we can try splitting the medial patellar ligament if he keeps doing it consistently and that there are further measures we can take if necessary.

The colt is out 24/7 and in good weight. He’s at my mom’s smaller farm so no big hills, but one of the fields has some smaller ones.

In the past we had a couple of Welsh ponies that had a similar condition but their stifle didn’t lock like his - it was like the ligament was too loose, and it would ‘catch’, then the leg would snap forward quickly, almost like stringhalt. They could still place their weight onto their foot normally. Despite turnout in very hilly pastures, regular work and blistering both of them have continued to have on and off issues throughout their life.

Are these conditions the same thing? They don’t look the same but it sounds like they’re given similar treatments.

[JB]

I simply would not do the surgery on a yearling unless what has been happening comtinues to happen a lot. Locked up for 3 hours is a long, long time, but here and there wouldn’t bother me as much as if that’s a regular occurrence. Give him a chance to grow again up front.

The snapping forward you describe is what happens when the horse works to get it unhooked and it suddenly does so - pretty common. The “slipped on a banana peel” feel/look is often from the ligament being too loose and it catches momentarily at in appropriate times. The ligament too short doesn’t usually cause a problem once the horse is moving, but a too long one could catch while moving.

A too long ligament would benefit from blistering to create scar tissue to effectively shorten it. The splitting surgery is more for short ligaments.

What is “regular” work for them? Sometimes it takes pretty serious work to strengthen the quadriceps muscles enough to deal with the problem, and even then sometimes they will still revert to locking/catching if they’re coming out of work, or stalled.

[Blume_Farm]

@JB;8065801

A too long ligament would benefit from blistering to create scar tissue to effectively shorten it. The splitting surgery is more for short ligaments.

Just to correct…the splitting and blistering are done for the same condition and usually done at the same time. A cause of UPF can be a patella ligament that is too long/ stretched, resulting in it catching. The goal is to irritate the ligament resulting in the formation of scar tissue that will contract and shorten/ tighten the ligament. Making the ligament like a tight drum skin. The veterinarian will take either a blade or 18g needle making small incisions into the ligament and then inject a counter irritant into the same area.

Exercise works by making the muscles that the patella ligament attach to stronger and shorter, hence pulling the ligament tighter. Below is a link to a good description of UFP by a boarded surgeon. He has done the blistering procedure on my mare twice over the years. I have never heard of a reason to make a patella ligament longer. However, in severe cases the patella ligament can be cut preventing any catching at all. The problem with that procedure is the horse can no longer use their “stay apparatus” to rest in a standing position so must have space to lay down for sleeping, long trailer rides can be impossible/ difficult and can result in fracture of the patella…so is only done as a last resort. I do know one horse that had the procedure and made it to I-1/ I-2 level. They would only show within a 2 hour distance for trailer rides. Otherwise he was happy and healthy.

http://www.atlantaequine.com/pages/client_lib_UpPatellerFix.html

[FatCatFarm]

What about starting him on a course of Estrone? It’s cheap and easy to give and shouldn’t hurt anything and just might help. I’ve used it to great effect on my daughter’s Welsh gelding who has had an occasional bought of sticky stifles. Absent any pathology, I wouldn’t do surgery on him either at this juncture and take a wait and see approach hoping that he does indeed grow out of it. Best of luck!

Edited to add: A friend of mine took in a off the track Standardbred who occasionally had UFP which came and went and my vet recommended a few days of bute for inflammation when he had a flare, and just work. The bute did indeed seem to help. If it were me, I would likely give bute for a few days and try the Estrone.

[Underthebridge]

When my younger mare was about 7 months I took her to my neighbor for weaning, she failed to tell me she had a load of sand brought in and she was in a round pen with a colt,
I have no idea what happened but there were broken boards and I think her croup was sore, her stifle got sticky a couple of times,

she healed in a few days, she is now 14 and it never happened again,
I wish you the best of luck that this is just temporary.